RELATIVE CLAUSES
NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
The information in these clauses is not essential. It tells us more about someone or something, but it does not help us to identify them or it.
Compare:
1. Elephants that love mice are very unusual. (This tells us which elephants we are talking about).
2. Elephants, which are large and grey, can sometimes be found in zoos. (This gives us some extra information about elephants - we are
talking about all elephants, not just one type or group).
3. John's mother, who lives in Scotland, has 6 grandchildren. (We know who John's mother is, and he only has one. The important information
is the number of grandchildren, but the fact that she lives in Scotland might be followed with the words "by the way" - it is additional
information).
Punctuation
Non-defining relative clauses are always separated from the rest of the sentence by commas. The commas have a similar function to brackets:
My friend John has just written a best-selling novel. (He went to the same school as me) > My friend John, who went to the same school as
me, has just written a best-selling novel.
Relative pronouns in non-defining clauses
Person Thing Place
Subject who which
Object who/whom which where
Possessive whose
Notes:
1. In non-defining clauses, you cannot use ‘that’ instead of who, whom or which.
2. You cannot leave out the relative pronoun, even when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause:
He gave me the letter, which was in a blue envelope.
He gave me the letter, which I read immediately
3. The preposition in these clauses can go at the end of the clause, e.g. This is Stratford-on-Avon, which you have all heard about.
This pattern is often used in spoken English, but in written or formal English you can also put the preposition before the pronoun: e.g. Stratford-
on-Avon, about which many people have written is Shakespeare’s birthplace.
4. Non-defining clauses can be introduced by expressions like all of, many of + relative pronoun:
Person Thing
all of + whom + which
any of + whom + which
(a) few of + whom + which
both of + whom + which
each of + whom + which
either of + whom + which
half of + whom + which
many of + whom + which
most of + whom + which
much of + whom + which
none of + whom + which
one of + whom + which
two of etc… + whom + which
Examples:
a. There were a lot of people at the party, many of whom I had known for years.
b. He was carrying his belongings, many of which were broken.
5. The relative pronoun which at the beginning of a non-defining relative clause, can refer to all the information contained in the previous part of
the sentence, rather than to just one word.
a. Chris did really well in his exams, which was a big surprise. (= the fact that he did well in his exams was a big surprise).
b. An elephant and a mouse fell in love, which is most unusual. (= the fact that they fell in love is unusual).
Examples:
a. My grandmother, who is dead now, came from the North of England.
b. I spoke to Fred, who explained the problem.
c. The elephant looked at the tree, under which she had often sat.
d. We stopped at the museum, which we’d never been into.
e. She’s studying maths, which many people hate.
f. I’ve just met Susan, whose husband works in London.
g. He had thousands of books, most of which he had read.
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We use relative clauses to give additional information about something without starting another sentence. By
combining sentences with a relative clause, your text becomes more fluent and you can avoid repeating
certain words.
How to Form Relative Clauses
Imagine, a girl is talking to Tom. You want to know who she is and ask a friend whether he knows her. You
could say:
A girl is talking to Tom. Do you know the girl?
That sounds rather complicated, doesn't it? It would be easier with a relative clause: you put both pieces of
information into one sentence. Start with the most important thing – you want to know who the girl is.
Do you know the girl …
As your friend cannot know which girl you are talking about, you need to put in the additional information –
the girl is talking to Tom. Use „the girl“ only in the first part of the sentence, in the second part replace it
with the relative pronoun (for people, use the relative pronoun „who“). So the final sentence is:
Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?
Relative Pronouns
relative
use example
pronoun
who subject or object pronoun for people I told you about the woman who lives
next door.
which subject or object pronoun for animals and things Do you see the cat which is lying on
the roof?
which referring to a whole sentence He couldn’t read which surprised me.
whose possession for people animals and things Do you know the boy whose mother is
a nurse?
whom object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining I was invited by the professor whom I
relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we met at the conference.
colloquially prefer who)
that subject or object pronoun for people, animals and I don’t like the table that stands in the
things in defining relative clauses (who or which are kitchen.
also possible)
Subject Pronoun or Object Pronoun?
Subject and object pronouns cannot be distinguished by their forms - who, which, that are used for subject
and object pronouns. You can, however, distinguish them as follows:
If the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun. Subject pronouns
must always be used.
the apple which is lying on the table
If the relative pronoun is not followed by a verb (but by a noun or pronoun), the relative pronoun is an object
pronoun. Object pronouns can be dropped in defining relative clauses, which are then called Contact
Clauses.
the apple (which) George lay on the table
Relative Adverbs
A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the sentence
easier to understand.
This is the shop in which I bought my bike.
→ This is the shop where I bought my bike.
relative
meaning use example
adverb
when in/on which refers to a time expression the day when we met him
where in/at which refers to a place the place where we met him
why for which refers to a reason the reason why we met him
Defining Relative Clauses
Defining relative clauses (also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses) give detailed
information defining a general term or expression. Defining relative clauses are not put in commas.
Imagine, Tom is in a room with five girls. One girl is talking to Tom and you ask somebody whether he
knows this girl. Here the relative clause defines which of the five girls you mean.
Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?
Defining relative clauses are often used in definitions.
A seaman is someone who works on a ship.
Object pronouns in defining relative clauses can be dropped. (Sentences with a relative clause without the
relative pronoun are called Contact Clauses.)
The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is very nice.
Non-Defining Relative Clauses
Non-defining relative clauses (also called non-identifying relative clauses or non-restrictive relative clauses)
give additional information on something, but do not define it. Non-defining relative clauses are put in
commas.
Imagine, Tom is in a room with only one girl. The two are talking to each other and you ask somebody
whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause is non-defining because in this situation it is obvious
which girl you mean.
Do you know the girl, who is talking to Tom?
Note: In non-defining relative clauses, who/which may not be replaced with that.
Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used.
Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice.
How to Shorten Relative Clauses?
Relative clauses with who, which, that as subject pronoun can be replaced with a participle. This makes the
sentence shorter and easier to understand.
I told you about the woman who lives next door. – I told you about the woman living next door.
Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof? – Do you see the cat lying on the roof?
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NOTE That nunca puede ser usado en las non-defining clauses.
Relative Pronouns Usados como posesion en Non-Defining Relative Clauses
Example: The singer, whose most recent recording has had much success, signing autographs.
The artist, whose name he could not remember, was one of the best he had ever seen.
NOTES
In non-defining relative clauses, which puede ser usado para referirse a una clausula entera.
Example: He came for the weekend wearing only some shorts and a t-shirt, which was a stupid thing to do.
Despues de numeros y palabras como many,most, neither, y some, usamos of delante de whom y which en non-defining relative clauses.
Example: Many of those people, most of whom enjoyed their experience, spent at least a year abroad. Dozens of people had been invited,
most of whom I knew.
El uso de Where, Why y When -Relative Clauses y Preposition Use
Where, para referirse a un lugar, why referiendose a una una razon y when referiendose a un tiempo, pueden ser usados en vez de un
pronombre relativo despues de un sustantivo.
En defining relative clauses why y when, al contrario que where pueden ser omitidos.
Example: I'd like to know the reason (why) he decided not to come.
February is the month (when) many of my colleagues take skiing holidays.
Pero! She always had wanted to go to a place where she could speak her native tongue.
When, where and why no son omitidos en non-defining relative clauses.
Example: I come from the Seattle area, where many successful companies such as Microsoft and Boeing are located, and I often go home
during the summer.
He likes shopping between one and three, when most people are at home, because of the relative calm.
NOTES:
Cuando hablamos amenudo omitimos el pronombre relativo.
Whom es mas formal que who y muy usado cuando se escribe.
Relative clauses y preposiciones
En el ingles formal las preposiciones van antes que el pronombre relativo.
Sin embargo es mucho mas comun el colocar la preposicion al final de la clausula relativa especialmente en ingles hablado (informal).
Example: John Robbins, whom I spoke to by telephone, instructed me to buy 200 shares of WAKO. (Formal)
The Ritz, which we stayed at in New York, was extremely expensive.
Defining Relative Clauses
Formal
Person
whom
Informal
Object
which
Example: The banker to whom I gave my check was quite friendly. - formal
The woman I talked to was very pleasant indeed. - informal
The book which I received for my birthday was excellent. - formal
The car he drove was really fast. - informal
Non-Defining Relative Clauses
Formal
Person
whom who
Informal
Object
which
Example: The bank manager, to whom he addressed his complaints, was very unhelpful. - formal.
The local branch manager, who I talked to about my problems, was very helpful. – informal
[Link]/StManor/blog/relative-clauses
The use of prepositions in relative clauses
If a preposition is used with the relative pronoun, this preposition can either precede the pronoun or follow the verb. In the second case we can
use the same pronouns as when the pronoun is in the object role. Otherwise we use whom or which.
The house in which the famous poet was born is now a museum.
The house which the famous poet was born in is now a museum.
The house that the famous poet was born in is now a museum.
The house the famous poet was born in is now a museum.
Suzanne, with whom I am in love, got married yesterday.
Suzanne, who I am in love with, got married yesterday.
At which point (when) and in which case (if so) are used in non-defining clauses.
I watched the match until the end of the first half, at which point I decided to go home.
If there is a fire, the alarm will go off, in which case leave the building at once.
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